Aer Lingus expects that up to 90 per cent of TEAM staff will accept the £54.5 million offer to buy out their letters of guarantee. The company, which has already extended the final deadline for acceptance several times, is to leave it open for another while.

An Aer Lingus spokesman said last night that 83 per cent of staff had now accepted the offer. The deadline was due to expire on Wednesday night. However, the spokesman said the company would continue to allow people to submit acceptance forms as 10-20 acceptances were being submitted daily.

The spokesman acknowledged that close to 200 TEAM workers had still not accepted the offer, but said the company is confident that this figure will reduce substantially in the coming days.

He said Aer Lingus was satisfied that the acceptances to date constituted the skills mix necessary for FLS Industries to buy the facility. FLS, which suspended the due diligence process to buy TEAM when employees rejected the Aer Lingus offer initially, has now recommenced the process.

A number of FLS representatives arrived in Dublin on Wednesday. The company's chairman, Mr Steffen Harpoth, has said he wants all TEAM staff to transfer to the new company.

It is believed that Mr Harpoth's meeting with union representatives at TEAM earlier this month helped to encourage more employees to accept the offer for their letters of guarantee.

Last week there was a further breakthrough when the company reached a deal with Lufthansa to allow TEAM employees to retain their cheap air travel concessions. Lufthansa has acquired 90 per cent of the other former aircraft maintenance facility Airmotive. The German airline is also seen as a possible strategic partner by some industry observers.

Aer Lingus has said that there is only work for about 40 TEAM employees who do not accept the offer.